Griz, the owner of the homebrewing supply store SF Brewcraft, a great guy and legendary figure in the SF craft beer scene, passed away last night. If you're having a beer tonight and knew him, please drink it in his memory. Cheers Griz!
Having a homebrew right now -- first one I brewed with supplies bought after the last time I saw him alive. I was worried not to see him in his chair. He was a really great guy who taught me a lot, both about brewing and the benefits of learning a process.
Wow, that is so sad, I was picking up wine grape juice there just last night and saw his motorized chair outside but he was not on his leather chair inside. He always welcomed my kids into the shop and let my son, the boll weevil, sample as much grain as he could. Here's "Griz and Grog" one of many great articles and videos about this legend - here interviews with folks who know him well while he teaches extract brewing: This is even better, Jesse's video about Griz on "anal retentive beer":
Really sad. Used to frequent brewcraft a ton pre-kids. Griz was always very welcoming and always entertained my ridiculously stupid questions.
And, let's not forget, you didn't have a relationship with Griz if he didn't yell at you for some reason or other.
Damn, I don't shop there much anymore as I no longer live in SF, but Griz was the person who got me started homebrewing. I very much live by his "don't be anal" mentality when brewing my funky beers and think I am better off for it. He will certainly be missed and was a huge asset to the home brewing community.
wow this really sucks! I only made it to one of his free monday night homebrewing classes. He had a vast amoung of knowledge, and great ingredients in his shop!
I bought alot of ingredients from Griz when I lived in Pacifica in '00-'04. He was a hilarious character indeed. If I ever get another brewery up and running, I will definitely make a beer in his honor..."The monkey and the football".
